Welcome to the Wild and Free Podcast, episode 46.

I'm Ainsley Arment, and this week we'll hear some exciting updates on the Wild and Free Farm Village.

Elsie Udicello will share some eye-opening thoughts on raising boys,

and Julie Bogart will talk about fashioning and education around our children's interests,

and not the other way around.

So grab a cup of coffee

and join us on the front porch. Let's get started. As I speak to you, mud is caked under my fingernails from weeding the garden, and bees are buzzing in the flower beds.

This can only mean one thing. Summer is officially here. The season's synonymous with adventures, bucketless, and new dreams.

Some mamas homeschool through the summer,

while others don't. But whether you're doing formal lessons or taking a break, you are still

home educating. The beauty of this lifestyle is that it never quits, never tires, and never fails

to offer meaningful experiences. The 19th century British banker John Lubbock wrote,

Rest is not idleness, and a lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day,

listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky,

is by no means a waste of time.

Who knows how many futures have been formed

in the seemingly insignificant moments of childhood.

Aside from the neurological benefits of idle mind wandering,

dreaming gives our children autonomy,

adventure, and the chance to discover who they really are.

When my kids were safe in my belly,

I dreamed about what they would be like. I imagined

...